Volkswagen
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
German carmaker selling the Golf, Tiguan and Amarok ute, and EVs.
Volkswagen's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2025, and there's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in South Africa is below a living wage.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Volkswagen? Send a right of reply.
Compare Volkswagen with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2025) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as China and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Volkswagen makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Germany | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| JapanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| South Africa | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- It belongs to a scheme such as IRMA or the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, publishes some refiners or traces some of its metals, but doesn't show both its battery metals traced to the mine and its aluminium traced to smelters outside Xinjiang.
Research notes Volkswagen Australia's cars come mostly from Germany, with the Amarok and Polo from South Africa, per Chasing Cars. VW joined IRMA in 2022, has required disclosure to the mine in new battery raw material contracts since 2020 and ranks 5th of 18 on Lead the Charge, but shows no mine-level results or aluminium tracing, and has little visibility over its Chinese joint ventures. It sold its Xinjiang plant in November 2024.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Listed | Volkswagen scored 46% on Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing in the Lead the Charge 2026 leaderboard (39% overall), 5th of 18; it is one of three carmakers requiring IRMA auditing of mining suppliers, but regressed on grievance disclosure. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Volkswagen Group Australia's modern slavery statement for 2024 covers 536 suppliers and the group's supplier sustainability rating; it doesn't address raw material or battery tracing. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium and aluminium auto parts from China as made with forced labour; it shows no vehicle entry for Germany or South Africa. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Volkswagen isn't on the UFLPA Entity List (November 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Lists Volkswagen in the Sheffield Hallam (2022) and Bureau of Investigative Journalism (2025) investigations, and criticism of its 2023 audit of its Xinjiang plant. View |
Confirmed issues 3
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism listed Volkswagen among more than 30 car brands buying from supply chains with Xinjiang forced labour risks (TBIJ via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source | Not knownVW said it was investigating the allegations; no source shows it ended any link. |
| 2024 | Link through a supplierHuman Rights Watch found Volkswagen among carmakers failing to minimise the risk of Uyghur forced labour in their aluminium, and VW acknowledged blind spots over its aluminium's origin (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Source · search the archive | Not knownVW acknowledged 'blind spots' on its aluminium's origin and said it has no transparency on its non-controlled SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture's suppliers. |
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report named Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, SEAT and FAW-Volkswagen among carmakers with supply chain exposure to Uyghur forced labour (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · search the archive | PartlyVW responded to the report; in 2024 it replaced a Xinjiang-linked sub-supplier part in all cars and sold its Xinjiang plant, but no source shows its supplier links ended. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Critics, including Löning's own staff and researcher Adrian Zenz, say Volkswagen's 2023 audit of its SAIC-Volkswagen Urumqi plant in Xinjiang couldn't show the absence of forced labour because it relied on documents and group interviews; VW said it found no indications and sold the plant in November 2024 (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Volkswagen scorecard 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · 39% overall, 46% human rights, 5th of 18; IRMA auditing; grievance regression
- China: Carmakers Implicated in Uyghur Forced Labor (Human Rights Watch, 2024) · search the archive · VW acknowledged blind spots over aluminium origin
- Report: Driving Force: automotive supply chains and forced labor in the Uyghur Region (BHRRC) · search the archive · Sheffield Hallam and NomoGaia (2022) named Volkswagen; VW responded
- Germany: Volkswagen's audit of Xinjiang plant criticised (BHRRC, October 2024) · search the archive · Audit criticised for failing to meet SA8000 standard; VW denies forced labour
- Volkswagen Group Australia modern slavery statement 2024 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · 536 suppliers; S-Rating; no raw material or battery tracing; names no manufacturing countries
- The most popular new cars in Australia by country of origin (Chasing Cars, August 2025) · search the archive · Tayron from Germany; Amarok and Polo from South Africa
Published by Volkswagen or its owner
- Volkswagen Group publishes third Responsible Raw Materials Report (July 2023) · search the archive · Disclosure to the mine required since 2020; joined IRMA March 2022
Company details
- Owned by
- Volkswagen AG
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Volkswagen ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/volkswagen, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other cars and suvs brands
Nothing we've rated in cars and suvs is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Volkswagen.